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Formation of Coaxial Nanocables with Amplified Supramolecular Chirality through an Interaction between Carbon Nanotubes and a Chiral π‐Gelator
Author(s) -
Vedhanarayanan Balaraman,
Nair Vishnu S.,
Nair Vijayakumar C.,
Ajayaghosh Ayyappanpillai
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
angewandte chemie
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1521-3757
pISSN - 0044-8249
DOI - 10.1002/ange.201605354
Subject(s) - chirality (physics) , supramolecular chemistry , supramolecular chirality , carbon nanotube , materials science , intermolecular force , circular dichroism , nanotechnology , helicity , chemical physics , crystallography , chemistry , molecule , crystal structure , organic chemistry , physics , chiral symmetry breaking , particle physics , quantum mechanics , nambu–jona lasinio model , quark
Abstract In an attempt to gather experimental evidence for the influence of carbon allotropes on supramolecular chirality, we found that carbon nanotubes (CNTs) facilitate amplification of the molecular chirality of a π‐gelator ( MC‐OPV ) to supramolecular helicity at a concentration much lower than that required for intermolecular interaction. For example, at a concentration 1.8×10 −4 m , MC‐OPV did not exhibit a CD signal; however, the addition of 0–0.6 mg of SWNTs resulted in amplified chirality as evident from the CD spectrum. Surprisingly, AFM analysis revealed the formation of thick helical fibers with a width of more than 100 nm. High‐resolution TEM analysis and solid‐state UV/Vis/NIR spectroscopy revealed that the thick helical fibers were cylindrical cables composed of individually wrapped and coaxially aligned SWNTs. Such an impressive effect of CNTs on supramolecular chirality and cylindrical‐cable formation has not been reported previously.